2014 Spring Bear

Day 1

I had been anticipating finally getting the chance to chase after some black bears after recently moving to western MT.  I never really put much thought or effort into actually hunting them, but now that I'm living right in some great bear country I couldn't pass up the chance to do so. 

I haven't had much of a chance to actually get out and explore a lot of the area I'm now living in.  I didn't really know where to begin or where to head to first.  With that in mind I basically grabbed my GPS and headed out.  On the first day I selected an area somewhat close to home.  I figured I would go for a drive and look for what I thought might be some decent bear country.

I found some great looking areas where there was great cover and plenty of water.  The one thing I was lacking was open areas to glass for a wandering bear.  I took off on the first morning and as I hiked around I wasn't finding anything that would allow me to view anything other than lots of trees.

Finally I got back to the pickup after a short hike and headed off to another spot.  Finally I found a huge opening that had some great terrain and looked like a prime spot for a bear.  I sat and glassed from a high vantage point for a few hours, but did not see anything. 

At the start of the day and beginning of this spring season my hopes were just to spot a bear and possibly get a decent stalk in.  After glassing for a few hours I headed back home.  As with most first hunts of the year the anticipation kills me.  I got right around 1 1/2 of sleep as I spent the night prior getting all of my gear in order and making sure I had everything I needed.  With such a lack of sleep I knew I would be hard pressed to be healthy enough to not only make sure I made a good shot as I was hunting with stick and string, but if I was lucky enough to kill a bear have the energy to pack him out.

Back to the house I went and rested up for the next day.  Here are a couple of photos of some amazing country.  Oh and by the way the new Exo pack performed flawlessly.

Day 2

After getting nice and rested up I headed back to the same area as the previous day and glassed a wide open area that would give me the opportunity to spot a bear in the open.  I began the morning by spotting several elk and had the privilege of getting to see them interact in their environment.  It was great to see them chasing each other around.  I spent the morning glassing for around 4 hours and didn't see much.  I explored some more of the area as it is all new.

After getting back home and getting some lunch I headed to an area I was told about that might hold a few more bears.  I spent the afternoon looking for a spot to take off from.  I finally found a trail head that looked decent so I headed off.  I took my time and hiked right around 3 miles and periodically glassed from time to time.  It was great being in some new country, and getting see what was out there.  I spotted a couple of deer, but not much was moving.  It was the middle of the day and I wasn't expecting too much.

I continued on and made the decision to just hike a bit further and see what I could see.  I finally worked my way around the mountain and had to decide to keep going or turn around and go back.  I figured I would keep going and then glass before dark.  I finally sat down after finding a decent place to glass from with open areas. 

I sat down for maybe two minutes, when I spotted my first bear.  I noticed an odd black spot and thought I saw some movement.  After only a couple of seconds the black spot for sure began to move and I knew exactly what it was.  It wasn't a huge bear maybe 120 to 130 lb bear.  The bonus part was that the bear was alone and indicated to me it was probably a young boar.

The bear began to work up the mountain and all of a sudden turned back around and sprinted to the bottom below me.  It was time to move.  I didn't have a specific plan other than to head to an area and cut the bear off.  At this point, it was only the second time I had been out and I was out of shape.  It is amazing what the body can take when adrenaline gets going.  I immediately threw my pack back on and headed to where I thought I might be able to get ahead of him, and hopefully ambush him.

I had to cut three ridges between us and did so in quick fashion.  I got to where I was pretty sure I could cut him off.  Well I sat for a bit and never spotted him.  The only thing I could think of is that he got a head of me.  Now that I had time to slow down I looked at my GPS and realized I was in a dilema.

I had right around 2 hours until it would be dark.  I knew I had right around 2 hours for a hike back to the pickup.  I had two ways of going.  The first more lengthy option was to follow the bottom out on the trail and then work my way back on the main road, but that would have put me at about 10 miles more.  The second option was to go back up over the top and straight down to the pickup.  I selected to just go up and over the top.  Little did I know just going up and over was going to be killer.

It was a straight 45 up and 45 back down.  It was one of those fun hikes where your knee just about touches the same time as your foot.  I had about an 800 to 1,000 ft incline to go.  When I reached what felt like about half way up I began to feel dehydration kick in. 

My muscles were cramping up, my fingers were swelling up to where it was hard to bend my fingers, and I hadn't urinated in around 3 hours.  I had plenty of water and food to last me, but I began to conserve my water as I knew it was going to be important as the hike went on.  I continuously drank water when I could, but not large amounts.  Pretty soon I began to vomit a little and I knew I needed to slow down.  As I did this I began to hear something.  Well my thought that the bear got a head of me was spot on.  I could hear something sniffing the air, and I immediately knew it was the bear I previously spotted. 

I usually don't worry too much about black bears, but then again it is a wild bear and they can be unpredictable.  I would like to say that I wasn't scared, but there is always that worry when I'm run down and being able to react correctly if things go bad.  I do carry bear spray and had it ready.  At this point shooting the bear wasn't really on my mind, because I knew there was no way of packing him out without having the meat or hide spoil and my main focus was getting back to my pickup.  I had the wind in my face and knew the bear was trying to figure out what I was.  Eventually the sniffing stopped.  I figured the bear was right around 50 to 70 yds away, but couldn't see him due to the dense timber.

After hearing the sniffing stop I continued on.  I finally reached the top and was exhausted.  It was at this point I had a decision to make to press on or rest my body and sleep on the mountain.  I knew I would be ok as I still had enough water and food to keep me alive for at least two days and longer if needed.

I decided to keep going as I still had enough light that I should make it back or close to the pickup at dark.  As I began down my muscles began to feel better as they were no longer getting beat up by the incline.  As I worked my way towards the pickup I again realized I wasn't able to make to the pickup directly.  I continually watched my GPS as I got closer and close to the trail.  There was only one problem, the entire hill side was gravel and it dropped down into a deep chute.  I finally got to the bottom of the chute and tried to work my way back up the other side.

I quickly figured out that there was no way of climbing out and had only one option of slowly working my way out.  I crawled low and high over nasty fallen timber and had horrible footing.  Finally I looked at my GPS and was within just a few hundred yds of my pickup and trail head.  Never have I been so happy to make it back to my originating spot. 

I did a few things smart before I left home.  I let my wife know exactly where I planned on being and how far I planned on going.  This is something I never usually worried about, but for some reason I felt very compelled to make sure she knew.  Looking back it was a gut instinct just in case something went bad.  I now know just how bad things can get and will never forget this trip. 

I left my pickup at 2:30 and finally made it back at around 11:30.  Once I got back into cell service I called home and let Leah know I was ok, but I was thinking about taking a trip to the ER.  My body was run down and I knew it.  I drank the rest of my water and by the time I made it back to town I was coming back around.  Tired and sore I wasn't sure when I would get back out.  The very next day I was in recovery mode and ready to get back after it.

I didn't get a bear this trip, but did learn a lot of valuable lessons.  I did a lot of things right, and others not so much.  Overall I got to see some awesome country and met my goal for my spring bear season.  My hopes were to simply spot a bear this year.  I'm very novice to bear hunting and figured just getting the chance to spot one was plenty good for me.

Although this trip was done my drive was not.  I was ready to get back after it and try for the bear once again.  Here are a couple of photos from my 2nd day out.

Day 3

After going back to work for the week and having the itch even more I headed back to see if I could find another bear.  I headed back to the same area, but hiked in from the other direction on a different trail head.  The drive in was great once again with plenty of elk spotted.  One cow even gave me the opportunity for a quick photo right off of the road.  I hit the trail right at sun up.

The first couple of miles was pretty uneventful.  The terrain was even more rugged than the last.  As long as I stayed on the trail it wasn't bad.  I finally found an opening and went for a hike off of the trail.  I worked my way higher to give me the best vantage point possible.  I would continually hike and glass.  I spent the remainder of the day doing so, but only spotted a few elk with no bears spotted.  I took some time and ate some lunch on the mountain, which will always be one of my favorites.  I made it to the back side of where I saw there bear, but as stated I did not find him.

I knew my bear season was going to be short lived, but as stated before I was going to use this season as a learning adventure.  I met my goal and spotted a bear.  I hope to chase bears once again this fall and look forward to next spring.  Now that I'm more educated I feel like all I need is a little more time and I will get there.  As with every species there is a learning curve and it might not happen right away for maybe even a few seasons.  Every day spent out is just one more opportunity to be able to one up a critter.

The main thing I learned this year is that although I grew up a "flat lander", I love the mountains.  They test me year after year and I am looking forward to testing myself in the mountains. 

My next adventure will be getting in a little fly fishing over the summer and then its on to archery antelope.  As always the anticipation can sometimes be too much.  I also look forward to elk season and chasing whitetails once again.  I think out of everything this fall getting the chance to chase whitetails has me the most excited.  I recently learned I did not draw any of the big 3 in MT so I know exactly what to concentrate on.

Here is a few more shots of my short lived spring bear season.